Power plays and penalty kills – hockey teams rely on their special teams to bail them out.
Unfortunately for the win-starved Prince George Cougars, there was nothing at all special about their speciality units on the ice at CN Centre Wednesday against the Kelowna Rockets.
They couldn’t score on any of their three chances on the power play and their penalty killing failed miserably, allowing two goals on three PK situations. It all added up to a 4-1 loss to the Rockets on a night the Cougars could ill afford to leave the rink without a point to show for their efforts.
“On the power play (the Rockets) were very aggressive and we have to move the puck quicker, and we just didn’t have that,” said Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb. “Tired or whatever, you’ve got to make those plays and we didn’t.”
With the Rockets nursing a 2-1 lead on their third power play 12 minutes into the third period, Kelowna defenceman corralled a long pass back to the point from Colton Dach and lifted a wrist shot into the top corner of the net behind the outstretched glove of goalie Ty Young.
That pretty much sealed it. Dylan Wightman added an empty-netter and the Cougars were forced to swallow their 38th loss.
The loss was even more difficult to accept for the Cats when they found out the Spokane Chiefs beat the Everett Silvertips 3-2 in overtime Wednesday in Spokane. That vaulted the Chiefs into sixth place in the WHL Western Conference, two points ahead of the Cougars and one up on Vancouver and Victoria.
The 18-year-old Dach, the game’s first star, cashed in the Rockets’ first power-play chance, 11:44 into the game, scoring from the right side on a low wrister along the ice. The Cougars got back on even terms and hometown hero Fisher O’Brien did the damage, scoring his first goal of the season, in his 57th game. The 18-year-old Prince George minor hockey product got down on one knee to wire a slapshot in from the top of the circle after centre Connor Bowie won the draw.
The Rockets regained the lead about a minute before the first intermission on a 2-on-1 break. Pavel Novak took a cross-ice feed and rifled off a quick shot that got through the feet of goalie Young as he moved across the crease.
Neither team was able to generate much offence in the second period. Craig Armstrong took off on a partial breakaway early in the period and was denied by a pad save from goalie Jiri Kykkanen. The Rockets came close to padding their lead a few minutes later on a hot shot Wightman deflected on net but Young was there to make the save.
The play opened up considerably to start the third period and that led to some great chances at either end. Rockets forward Andrew Cristall, a noted Cougar-killer with four goals and four assists in the previous seven games against Prince George, came close to scoring when he was set up in the slot with a pass out of the corner but Young was in perfect position to make the save.
The Cougars’ fourth line countered with an offensive flurry five minutes into the period and Aiden Reeves set up Carlin Dezainde for a close-range blast that was turned aside with a shoulder save from Kykkanen.
Just before Szturc scored, the Cougars’ power play had its third chance of the game but could not get untracked, failing to generate a shot or any zone time during the two-minute penalty.
The Cougars are still in the playoff race, one point behind the Vancouver Giants and Victoria Royals, but with three games left, Prince George (22-38-3-1, ninth place) is going to have to find a way to win to lock up a top-eight finish needed to move on to the playoffs.
The Cougars are back on home ice Saturday to face the Victoria Royals in a makeup date after the original WHL schedule was disrupted by a COVID flare-up and the November rainstorm that washed out highways in southwestern B.C. The Cats also play next Friday in Kamloops.
The Rockets came in the game have won nine straight games at CN Centre dating back to Oct. 23, 2019 - seven in regulation time and two in overtime, including their 1-0 OT win over the Cougars Tuesday night. They will meet again April 16 in Kelowna, the last game of the season for both teams.
Wednesday’s WHL summary
Rockets 4 at Cougars 1
First Period
1. Kelowna, Dach 26 (Novak, Lee) 11:44 (pp)
2. Prince George, O’Brien 1 (Bowie) 15:44
3. Kelowna, Novak 28 (Kydd, Flamand) 18:52
Penalties – Liwiski Kel (unsportsmanlike conduct, served by Cristall, fighting), Dowhaniuk PG (fighting) 1:07, McMillen Kel (slashing) 4:50, Glover PG (tripping) 11:19, Liwiski Kel (high-sticking), Brown PG (high-sticking) 20:00.
Second Period
Penalties – MacAdams PG (kneeing) 17:13.
Third Period
4. Kelowna, Szturc 16 (Dach, Flamand) 12:29 (pp)
5. Kelowna, Wightman 4 (Dach, Novak) 19:19 (en)
Penalties – Liwiski Kel (boarding, fighting), Brown PG (fighting) 8:39, Samson PG (interference) 10:43.
Shots on goal by
Kelowna 6 11 7 -24
Prince George 8 6 8 -22
Goal – Kelowna, Kykkanen (W,6-2-0-0); Prince George, Young (L,4-7-2-0).
Power play – Kel: 2-3; PG: 0-3.
Referees – Bret Iverson, Trevor Nolan; Linesmen – Anthony Maletta, Blair Scott.
Attendance – 1,702.
